travel with kittens

we have just acquired 2 kittens (5 mo old), and hope to travel regularly by car to the cottage with them (1.5 hours away). we're doing short trips with them now to get them used to the idea. one kitten is great - sits in his carrier and doesn't make a peep. the other kitten, however, meows throughout the entire trip. he doesn't appear to be ill, or suffer any other side effects. when the trip is complete, they both get cat treats when they come out of their carriers.
i've been reading up on acclimatizing cats to car travel, and wonder what the best way is to get kitten #2 over his meowing - do we keep doing the short trips with them, or provide treats at the start of the trip? or is there some other 'trick' to this?

This is just off the wall ... have you tried putting them both into one carrier to see if the meowing stops? Assuming they're of a size to both fit in one carrier of course!

Cindy

My YY is a good traveller - train, plane, auto - she has done it all!! But I got her accustomed to her very early in her kittenhood, started at 12 weeks. She knows she will get treats for being a good girl - and there are a few meows and the occasional Siamese yowl but hey, I curse at the occasional driver too. She yowls at large potholes. I talk to her constantly while we travel. (or as much as possible). So maybe once they get used to it, the whiny one will become quieter. Placing them both in the same carrier I see as either making him quiet or they will both start - I don't know.


Can you put him in the front - on the floor closer to you? Like on the passenger side? That might help. And give him a toy to play with in the carrier,

they're actually kinda big, so i don't think we'll be able to get them in the same carrier, but thanks for the suggestion.

thanks - i'll try putting him beside me and see if that makes a difference. i've also started giving them treats for going inside their carriers, as well as when they get out of the carrier.

They make bigger carriers. I have one that would fit 2 cats.. You should price them

Music seems to make a difference to my gang when driving, their favourite seems to be irish folk for some reason - no idea why that appeals to them but they seem to find it calming!

Dax likes to see straight ahead when travelling in her carrier. She is pretty good, she gives a bit of a protest cry every 30-45mins and then goes back to sleep. I also find the more I talk to her the more agitated she gets - she looks at me and cries back. Its best for me to just leave her quietly in the carrier next to me and not make a fuss. I take her to a place that is 2 hours drive away fairly regularly and she seems used to the travel now. We stop by a woody rest stop halfway and let her walk on the leash in case she needs to relieve herself. She always does...
Harness training might be good so you can also stop and give them a break - Putting the two in one cage sounds good too!
Goodluck!

It's a 4 hour drive from school to home for me and Oliver sometimes makes that trip with me... he gets harnessed and leashed and his leash gets hooked to the leash clip in his soft carrier... the carrier goes on the front seat next to me and gets secured... once we're on the road, the top door of his carrier gets opened and he's allowed to come out - I keep his open-top litter box on the passenger floor and he's been known to use it durning the trip - he's a lot calmer when he's allowed some freedom inside the car - he's got enough freedom to get down to his litter, onto my lap (if I let him) and onto the middle backseat, yet cant get down to around my feet where he could cause an accident... he always gets treats and toys for being a good boy too, but he's definitely known to be a crier during car rides.